Tkachuk’s late goal seals Florida sweep

PANTHERS-HURRICANES

The Florida Panthers barely reached the post-season, clinching their playoff berth two days before their regular-season finale. They snuck into the bracket as the No. 8 seed and were the heavy underdog against the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round.

Florida shook off all those low expectations, and now the Panthers are four victories away from raising the Stanley Cup for the first time following a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, completing a conference final sweep at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday. The Panthers will play for the NFL crown for the first time since 1996. Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal, on a power play, with 4.3 seconds remaining in the third period, sending Panthers fans into delirious applause.

In a series dominated by goalies, both teams found the net with relative frequency Wednesday. The Panthers got off to a quick start, with winger Anthony Duclair scoring from left side of the goal just 41 seconds into the game. Later in the first period, Tkachuk took advantage of an opportunity directly in front of Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen, finding the five-hole. It was the first time either team had a two-goal lead in the series.

However, the two-goal lead did not last long, as Hurricanes centre Paul Stastny scored late in the first period to cut Florida’s lead back to one. Winger Teuvo Teravainen knotted the game at two early in the second period.

Ryan Lomberg put the Panthers back ahead in the second half, getting a perfect feed from Colin White and shooting into an open side of the net. Florida held onto the lead Lomberg gave them until the final minutes of the third period when Jesper Fast scored from point-blank range in front of Sergei Bobrovsky.

Florida will face either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup final.